Steve Benen: …. Speaker Boehner’s budget proposal doesn’t have the votes. In the hopes of twisting a few arms, the House proceeded to take up a few measures related to — I kid you not — naming post offices. (Yes, five days before an economic catastrophe of Republicans’ making, they’re reduced to naming post offices on the House floor.)

Nearly two hours later, GOP leaders have said they still expect to hold a vote “tonight,” though that’s a time frame that could conceivably go into the morning. Democratic leaders also anticipate a vote this evening, and have told members not to leave Capitol Hill.

By most accounts, Boehner is a vote or two shy of what he needs to pass a bill … which everyone knows will then be promptly killed by the Senate. The Speaker’s argument to his caucus is that passage of his budget plan will give him greater leverage in the final round of talks, after this bill dies, but as it turns out, that’s not much of a rallying cry for a right-wing caucus that doesn’t like Boehner’s bill much anyway.

At this point, it’s also worth noting that Boehner’s hold on the Speaker’s gavel is weakening, and failure tonight, if there’s a vote, would be a stunning rebuke of his leadership by dozens of members of his own caucus.

Joe Klein (Time): Let us not put too fine a point on it: Thursday’s House vote on Speaker John Boehner’s debt ceiling proposal is a joke. If it passes the House, Harry Reid has said it is dead on arrival in the Senate. If it somehow passes the Senate, which it won’t, President Obama will veto it. It is, therefore, a symbolic act that is wasting precious time. It follows last week’s Republican theatrics, the passage of the Cut and Demolish Act (or whatever they called it), which also was a waste of time. These are the actions of a party that has completely lost track of reality – and of a leader, John Boehner, who has lost the support of his party.

…. This has been an exhausting process – one that might have resulted in an exhilarating triumph, if the Republican party were not led by nihilists like Rush Limbaugh and Grover Norquist. But one senses that the President is feeling the exhaustion and frustration. He is preparing himself for the worst of all possible scenarios: the uncertainty caused by the Republican anarchy has already damaged the economy, businesses are waiting to see what the interest rates will be and therefore delaying plans to expand. That uncertainty, added to the higher oil prices caused by Arab Spring, the European Debt crisis and the Japanese earthquake could well bring us a double-dip recession.

… And so, here we are. Our nation’s economy and international reputation as the world’s presiding grownup has already been badly damaged. It is a self-inflicted wound of monumental stupidity. I am usually willing to acknowledge that Democrats can be as silly, and hidebound, as Republicans–but not this time. There is zero equivalence here. The vast majority of Democrats have been more than reasonable….

The Republicans have been willing to concede nothing. Their stand means higher interest rates, fewer jobs created and more destroyed, a general weakening of this country’s standing in the world. Osama bin Laden, if he were still alive, could not have come up with a more clever strategy for strangling our nation.

President Obama talks with staff during a Domestic Policy Council meeting in the Oval Office, July 28 (Photo by Pete Souza)

****

Andrew Leonard (Salon): As I write these words, the U.S. House of Representatives is debating the appropriate name for a post office in Pasadena, Calif. Meanwhile, C-SPAN is running a crawl at the bottom of the screen that reads “Final Vote on Speaker Boehner’s Plan to Raise Debt Ceiling Postponed.”

And so, ludicrously, is history made. The Republican Party is on the cusp of one of the greatest self-inflicted disasters since a crack cadre of two-bit bumblers broke into the Watergate Hotel. Right now, John Boehner cannot count on enough Republican votes to pass his own debt ceiling bill….

…It is still, at this point, nearly inconceivable that Boehner’s bill could go down in flames. Because if it does, intransigent House conservatives will have handed President Obama one of the biggest victories of his term.

Here’s why: The Boehner bill is already a conservative bill that won’t pass the Senate. But if House Republicans can’t pass it on their own, they will have conclusively demonstrated that it will be impossible for them to come to agreement on any kind of compromise deal acceptable to both parties. They will have effectively declared themselves incapable of governing …. exposed as both irresponsible and incompetent.

… Washington will be a different town, and Boehner will be a neutered political leader. And those of us who lived through this period will wonder how in the world this man managed to hold the U.S. government hostage for so long, when he couldn’t even control his own party.

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Reposting from previous thread because this is just remarkable. Majority Leader Eric Cantor is losing it. As Steve Benen puts it, Cantor is essentially saying do as we say or we will kill the hostage and blame you for it. The guy is nuts.

The pressure is starting to get to Eric Cantor

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) declared Thursday that Senate Democrats would be responsible for a national default if they defeat a House plan to raise the debt limit.

Cantor starkly laid out the options: Either the Senate passes the House debt-limit legislation or the nation will likely default.

“There are two choices left,” Cantor said. “When we send this bill over, this compromise piece of legislation, [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid [D-Nev.] can take that up, pass it, send it to the White House. We can avoid the potential consequences of going past Aug. 2 and get on with the business of this country, or it will be on Harry Reid to bear the consequences of economic damage, and I don’t want to see that.”

Exactly, that where he got the talking point. Both Cantor and Boehner has said that THEY HAVE COMPROMISED. It really is astonishing that someone can call themselves a journalist and ask the question that Jake Tapper asked Jay Carney today/ It might as well have been Boehner sitting in Tappers chair. Same thing.

Time to tweet bomb their asses, there is no way America will hold the Democrats or the President responsible for this act of economic terrorism. I am sending e-mails now, McConnell, Cantor and Boehner…..you screwed the pooch, you infantile jerks.

Well we know that at least two senators openly expressed concerns about the wisdom of conflating the raising of the debt ceiling (which has been pretty routine until PBO) with deficit reduction. I think it would be safe to say that there is a sizable number of establishment Republicans who are thinking the same thing. The Republican Party is imploding right before our eyes and they own this manufactured crisis. President Obama asked for a clean debt ceiling bill months ago.

GOP Senators Get Cold Feet Over Standoff: ‘Maybe The Debt Ceiling Was The Wrong Place To Pick A Fight’

“In an exercise in political cynicism,” CBPP notes that both bills include an exemption for payments to Medicare providers that was not part of previous laws. This allows Republicans to avoid another hit from the senior community “even as they subject those living below the poverty line to the risk of automatic cuts that would push them even deeper into poverty.” Earlier this week, CBPP put out an analysis showing that Boehner’s debt ceiling plan “could well produce the greatest increase in poverty and hardship produced by any law in modern U.S. history.”

The Republican move to cut a long-standing bipartisan protection for the poor really brings into question exactly which Americans Republicans say they’re fighting for. Religious leaders should take note. If asked “What Would Jesus Cut,” it seems Republicans are determined to provide the wrong answer.

DEBT VOTE score sheet: Majority vote in House is 216. GOP has 240 members. They can afford 24 GOP ‘no’ votes, but not anymore.

Also according to the hill’s updated list about 25 GOP members are leaning against voting for Boehner’s plan. This is why Boehner has postponed the debt ceiling vote. Updated whip list: 25 House Republicans against/leaning no on Boehner plan http://ow.ly/5PVui

His mind and his proverbs are a thing of beauty. Every evening when I watch him, I come out gaining more info, happier than before and my respect and admiration keeps shooting high. I’m off to tweet him our collective thanks for the MAGNIFICENT job he does night after night.

Yes, I shared that with my Mom today, she’s 78 and is of course concerned about getting her SS next month. She was pleased to hear Rev. Al will be interviewing the President and will be watching. She loves Rev. Al.

Hey Guys this is HILARIOUS!!!!!! just got this from twitter via CNN reporter Lisa Desjardins: DEBT – INTENSE: Jeff Duncan, R-SC, outside Boehner office, said he’s going to House chapel to “pray about the vote” + “pray for the country”

Basically Sen Jeff Duncan (R) after hearing that Boehner doesn’t have enough votes for his “Budget Control Act” plan is going to the House chapel to pray. Hahahahah. He’s starting to realize that the teabagger caucus is dangerous. Wall Street and big business who funded the tea party must be peeing their pants right now.😆😆

It looks like things are coming undone at the capital. This is really amazing……

Clergey Members Arrested At Capitol Protesting Budget Cuts

About a dozen religious leaders were arrested in the Capitol rotunda today after they refused to end their public prayers calling for “an equitable resolution to the debt ceiling debate,” according to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which organized the protest. The leaders noted that default would be catastrophic, but current plans to raise the debt limit would still include “severe spending cuts to the programs and services that support the poorest and most vulnerable people living in the U.S. and around the world.” A photo of the leaders captured by the New York Times:

I’m glad to see that not all religious communities have fallen for the Republican spin. I hope that more genuine believers will speak up in defense of the poor and the sick as these people are doing. Religion is nothing without compassion.
I don’t belong to a church but I do have my beliefs and often feel sad that the extreme right wing are giving Christianity a bad name and misrepresenting the teachings of Christ. It’s nice to know that some religious leaders are willing to stand up for social justice.

If these clergey members had been doing the right things in their pulpits rather than bashing President Obama, they would not even have to be in the Capitol Building today. You do not mock God says scripture which is what they are to be teaching. Right? Shame on them.

These clergy members are Presbyterian, not Evangelicals. They do not represent the Rick Warren school of christianity, but come from a christian social justice tradition. The ministers that were arrested probably have been doing the right thing in their pulpits for decades.

thanks for scalping Jake Suzanne. I’ve always wanted to and I’m sure my sexy second husband–second only to PBO—-Jay Carney also appreciates it.🙂
ps— Reid is very spicy!! Who knew his zingers were so sharp😉

teaparty guy said the teapoopers kicked Bush outta office!!!!!! Rev. Al was AWESOME!!!! he starred up into the sky and said: “ah, I thougt Bush left office bc he couldn’t run again and it was McCain who ran against PBO.” ehhehehehehhehhedhehehheheheh🙂🙂

Rev. Al is hitting it out of the park tonight. Do not come on Rev. Al with talking points. And please, please know your facts. They kicked Bush out of office. The teabaggers are foolish and messing with peoples life and the country’s life.

I have to say, I wish that AL would have slammed that ignorant TP guy a little harder on all the lies he got in: I guess when the ENTIRE PREMISE of your argument starts OUT from the wrong position. 1} 50% of people NEVER PAY TAXES 2)Wealthy create jobs 3)Obama created 4Trillion worth of debt… ALL OF IT IS PROVEN WRONG!!!! Those were only the things I remember off the top of my head. I wish AL would have corrected the willful liar.

Yes, desertflower, I do believe that Rev. Al wanted to get into it. The teapot was talking so fast, and I think that Rev. Al did not want to be loud on this foolish man. But this is a heart(the teapot) speaks. ‘Out of the heart, the mouth speaks.”

Great, now I’m going to have to add Rev. Al to my nightly watching when I get home.

This, from ThinkProgress, my new favorite news website: PELOSI SUPPORTS CLEAN VOTE ON DEBT CEILING INCREASE | During a question-and-answer session yesterday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, “If we don’t come to a conclusion soon, Democrats in the House are saying, we must pass a clean debt ceiling bill while continuing our discussions, as we know we must to reduce the deficit.” The Congressional Black Caucus has also said that a clean vote is the path out of the current stalemate. Today, the Congressional Progressive Caucus announced its support of Rep. Peter Welch’s (D-VT) clean vote proposal to get out of the current crisis.

Hey Linda I just finished watching the video and once again a BIG THANK YOU!!!!!! for posting it here. I’ve always been a Lord John Maynard Keynes admirer and also an admirer of Keynesian economics. This video just boosted my belief in his economic theories. Hayek didn’t seem to understand that if one leaves markets to regulate itself, then the freemarket will run wild with greed, reckless speculation and volatile trading and then crash and burn. We’ll essentailly be where we were in 2007-2008. Keynes theory is more sound and more responsible in my opinon. He cited the great depression and how we recovered from that economic disaster because of WWll. We made weapons, we sold them, we had money for infrastructure and a bunch of social programs came into existence. He also pointed out that after the success; FDR decided austerity was the way to go and BAM! the economy began tanking again. The other salient point he made was that unlike Hayek allowing the free market to run amok, regulation and oversight is always needed to control big business, unless the fat cats will screw everyone ten times over. He reminded us that we always need to look out for the middle and working class because they also work hard and don’t deserve to have their dreams squashed due to the greed and lack of conscience of the uber wealthy. Keynes point can be seen when in 2009 President Obama passed a stimulus bill that pulled the economy from the brink of a catastrophic disaster. If he had not spent money to put extra revenue into the American peoples pockets, then money wouldn’t have been pumped back into the economy and unemployment would be way way way WORSE. What the GOP doesn’t understand is that if you provide more job initatives that lead to jobs for people, consumer confidence rises, they spend, and money is injected into the economy. It’s not that hard to understand. Once again thanks for this LInda and please keep bringing us more and also feel free to drop a line or two.😀

this Heidi chick is so fracking annoying: “there are ppl who support you that you wouldn’t have dinner with….that’s not his fault, it shouldn’t be held against him [Rick Perry]. this is all the left’s fault…..” ahhhhhh. LIAR!!!! How did that work for PBO Heidi?! Fracking idiot.😕

yeah, Heidi conveniently forgets how the right attempted to swift boat Obama in 2008 with Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers. So Heidi Harris doesn’t mind if Obama is swift boated with his associations, but doesn’t enjoy it when a Republican is swift boated with their associations, fucking BITCH!!!!!

Good evening all. Just catching up on all I missed today, then off to the twitterz. I agree I never click a huffNpuff link, but I gotta say this piece has @janehamshire’s fingerprints on it. Sound just like the type of piece she would do.

I concur lmrj. I read last evening about this mess somewhere else. I do not go to Huff at all.(that is my own preference) And Martz, I also loved how Rev. Al ended his program tonight. Just remember the vile will come out with anyone defending the President’s record. Rev. Al will handle them.

Okay, Chris Matthews is back on his “Obama-losing-support-among-his-base” garbage. I mean give me a break already. Aren’t these pundits tired of their broken record about this President so-called losing support? They sing this stupid song whenever a poll or two fluctuates downwards- it should be understood that the President’s poll numbers will fluctuate up and down several times between now and Nov 2012. The bigger and more important question is: Who is going to be the GOP nominee for 2012 and how does that person stack up against the President, not just now, but once the campaign season starts to heat up. Any other “analysis” and prognostications by these overpaid, do-nothing pundits is just BS.

And what’s more, Tweety is using a “generic” Republican to illustrate his point…

Um…what happened to the Republicans who are ACTUALLY running for President – like Pawlenty, Bachman, Cain, Ron Paul, Romney, Huntsman, etc?

Nice try, Chris Matthews – but FAIL. If you have to resort to using some mythical “generic” Republican (when actual candidates exist) to suggest that the President is losing support, you’ve already lost the argument.

Naw, in all fairness he has been pretty great for weeks now. It’s like he finally realized the danger of not calling Republicans for what they are. He’s been great. So a return to the old b.s. was bothersome today.

So now the pendulum is swinging back to President Obama Is losing his base. Nonsense. As I like to say, you could get whiplash trying to keep up with Tweety. I have pretty much given up on him. However, he had a pretty good interview last night with Bruce Bartlett about the debt limit crisis. But even then, he was all over Bartlett as if he had enlightened him so much. But bottom line, Bartlett was basically verbalizing the US National Debt Chart that the White House put out the other day. He totally eviscerated the GOP talking points. The interview was pretty good, except Bartlett had to show he was a Republican by criticizing President Obama for being moderate and conservative.

What I have noticed about Chris Matthews is he uses Howard Fineman a lot. Lately since HF has gone to an internet news organization (I was asking above if it was Huff Puff) HF seems to be totally against PBO lately and Chris seems swayed by HF and joins in on the criticism. CM has been putting Boehner, Cantor, and the Teaparty in their place lately though.

Expect PBO’s poll numbers to start looking really bad. Remember the other day there was an article where Rasmussen was quoted being surprised that PBO was still polling so high after all the crap they threw at him and all the rigged polling questions? He sound down right defeated in the article.

I expect the polling to get even shadier and more deceptive in the coming months as they try to create their reality to fit with the voices in their head. So save your sanity and don’t pay them much mind. The only polling that counts is Nov 4 2012.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say again, I’ve never in all my 68 (soon to be 69) years saw so much polling done on a president. I am starting to believe as many of you do: that our PBO has caused these people to go BatS insane,😆 .

huff n puff can stick it up their thieving asses and smoke it. they are so petty and stupid it’s transparent. what the frack ever.🙄 Their hero Cenk-the-dumbass got downgraded and they decided to do a hit piece on his replacement. Rev. Al got better ratings. Wake up a-holes: Money talks and assholes walk.

They’re jealous because Rev. Al is successful, just like they’re jealous because President Obama is successful. I gave up on HuffnPuff when they continued to call for PBO to be primaried with Alan Grayson, Bernie Sanders, Dennis Kucinich, Anthony Wiener, Keith Olbermann, Underdog… OK I threw Underdog in, but you get my point😀

There is more and more talk, especially among House Democrats, that if no compromise can be reached on the debt ceiling by August 2nd, Obama should assert his power under the 14th Amendment to raise the ceiling himself by executive order. Bill Clinton helped pave the way for this resurgent interest in the “constitutional option” by saying, in an interview with Joe Conason last week, that if he were in Obama’s shoes he’d do so “without hesitation.”

Of course, a cynic might suspect that a former president, no longer burdened by the pressures of actually having to govern, would be tempted to advise actions more brave and bold than he himself was willing to take when he in power. But as I have noted before while in office Clinton, like many other presidents—FDR, Truman—was perfectly willing to negotiating the outer limits of the law when occasions demanded it:

[describes Clinton during Mexican peso crisis].

While the debt ceiling standoff is a bigger deal than even the Mexican peso crisis was, the point is that Clinton—who, like Obama, taught constitutional law—has arguably a better feel for the position Obama finds himself in than just about any person on Earth. So when he says he would invoke the 14th Amendment powers “without hesitation,” I suspect that means Obama will, too.

Obama didn’t telegraph his intention to attack Bin Ladin on Pakistani territory – he just engaged in the nation’s shortest war, unilaterally, when it was obvious that that was his only practical path to achieve a key national security goal. He’s shown a cool head and a willingness to make hard choices, even when his choice was not the one I wanted him to make. When some commentators deride him for failing to use the bully pulpit to direct us toward the option he wants, he’s just conforming to the basic rules of separation of powers, allowing congress to take the lead in this process right to the brink of their default (!) of their responsibility. He’s a realist and a pragmatist, and I can’t imagine he’d allow the nation to founder for no better reason than that it’s supposed to be congress’ job to throw it a life preserver. If there’s one thing Americans love it’s an action hero, and I think that’s what he’ll look like when he acts decisively in the face of congressional dithering. The right can try to spin it negatively, but the most of us I think really are centrists and we’ll approve of his action. He just can’t spike the narrative by tipping his hand in advance, or it will look like a power grab instead of a rescue operation.

And in the middle of the storm: when the head is quiet, keep you eye on the plan ahead. Our President of the United States is working right now on this and every other important issue that we are facing. We can count on it. How soon we forget the OBL case. You better believe Timmy(my endearing name for another brainy man,,love them) , the President, his advisors, lawyers but most of all President Barack Obama is on top of this. Remember, “I God This”. They will not leave President Barack Obama or the American people and the world at the altar again. NOT THIS TIME. Count on it. No More, Mr. Speaker and Teapotters.

It was classless for Bill Clinton to insert himself in this situation, and do it on so potentially explosive an issue. It was outrageous. Whether we agree or disagree, a former President should be respectful of the office and keep his mouth shut.

Bill Clinton has always had a problem with (1) his ego; and (2) weighing the consequences of his actions. It was a classless stunt.

Thank you. I so totally agree. I don’t remember ANY previous president making appearances everywhere telling any sitting president what they should do. Not Bush the elder, Bush Jr., Carter nor Reagan when he was alive. I haven’t heard Ford of anyone else pulling this on a sitting president. Nor have I heard any vice pres. beside Cheney do this.

Bill needs to check his ego. He certainly doesn’t need the money they pay him and he has other things going on so I say STFU Billy Boy. Your time as President is passed.

Bill Clinton joins Cheney as the only 2 to pull that crap. How’s that Bill. The 2 of you don’t know when to sit down and keep quiet. Nice company you’re keeping there.

57, I have a different perspective about Bill Clinton saying that. He was giving President Obama legitimacy to do it. Bill was elected twice and is still respected and popular. I think he said that so that people would think it was a credible, presidential action.

Randi Rhodes had a couple of people calling in that were lawyers today advising against using the 14th Amendment to bypass the Congress. One of them read further into the Amendment and showed were it was not applicable. The other one mentioned not trusting this Supreme Court and that Impeachment could be a iikely result. I thought about how the PL might like his doing that as well as all of the commentators and as soon as PBO gets in trouble they would abandon him and forget it was their own idea.

I might also say, for those of you who are trying to get information from sources that are aggravating, there is a wonderful community of excellent progressive blogs that are coming together. The Obama Diary and The only adult in the room are two of them of course🙂 and Smartypants has a blogroll of them on the left side. I also check Steve Benen. I get a progressive interpretation that fits with my beliefs about how things work as well as giving me good information. And I sure feel much more optimistic and able to take positive action.

Joe Klein has a good article in Time: Republicans’ Debt Ceiling Charade Is Downright Dangerous

Let us not put too fine a point on it: Thursday’s House vote on Speaker John Boehner’s debt ceiling proposal is a joke. If it passes the House, Harry Reid has said it is dead on arrival in the Senate. If it somehow passes the Senate, which it won’t, President Obama will veto it. It is, therefore, a symbolic act that is wasting precious time. It follows last week’s Republican theatrics, the passage of the Cut and Demolish Act (or whatever they called it), which also was a waste of time. These are the actions of a party that has completely lost track of reality–and of a leader, John Boehner, who has lost the support of his party.

Thanks for this Suzanne. Joe Klein makes it a point to put the blame where it belongs, squarely on the Republican Party. He doesn’t go to the pox on both their houses route as most lazy media stenographers are want to do. You know, both sides do it. I found it very refreshing.

——————————————————–
And so, here we are. Our nation’s economy and international reputation as the world’s presiding grownup has already been badly damaged. It is a self-inflicted wound of monumental stupidity. I am usually willing to acknowledge that Democrats can be as silly, and hidebound, as Republicans–but not this time. There is zero equivalence here. The vast majority of Democrats have been more than reasonable, more than willing to accept cuts in some of their most valued programs. Given the chance, there was the likelihood that they would have surrendered their most powerful weapon in next year’s election–a Mediscare campaign–by agreeing to some necessary long-term reforms in that program. The President, remarkably, proposed raising the age of eligibility for Medicare to 67.

The Republicans have been willing to concede nothing. Their stand means higher interest rates, fewer jobs created and more destroyed, a general weakening of this country’s standing in the world. Osama bin Laden, if he were still alive, could not have come up with a more clever strategy for strangling our nation.
——————————————————–

House Republican leaders are temporarily suspending floor action Thursday night so they can intensify efforts to round up enough votes to pass Speaker John Boehner’s debt ceiling and deficit-reduction bill. A vote later in the evening is still expected.

GOP leaders said they were “very close” to the 216-vote threshold necessary to pass the Boehner bill. But the fluidity of the vote count and the grim reality that Boehner might lose the biggest vote of his young speakership made GOP leaders conspicuously cautious. No one, several GOP sources said, could afford to risk a defeat of Boehner’s bill and the image of chaos it would create – not to mention the certain stock market volatility it would trigger.

GOP leaders could not predict a time Thursday when the vote would occur. Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy’s office advised lawmakers at 6:31 p.m. to “stay nearby as we expect a vote later tonight. Stay tuned for further updates for more accurate timing.”

I wonder what Bonehead is using to whack the teapoopers upside the head? My guess: locking them in a room with a recording on loop of Bailin’ Palin saying that she can see Russia from her house. OR they’re locked in a room being tortured with 5 minutes of her movie: “How to Look Dumb and Act Like An Asshole while Making Mula, Bitches!”

You know TOD family, I remember when Michael Steele former RNC ChairUser drove all around bad mouthing then wonderful Speaker Nancy Pelosi, I said this is ugly and unnecessary, and it will draw ugly and vile people to his party, and look what happened. I will put a lot of this at his feet, I mean the mean spirit of it. He was not a leader, and look how these people have been elevated up in their party Ryan, Cantor to hurt so many. But I have faith, we will prevail. We have a decent man in the Oval Office, and we have decent and hardworking people supporting him. I want to thank our wonderful Chipsticks and BWD for our havens. May they both be blessed for all that they do . Thank you, and Thank you. I love you both back also, HZ

Yes, we know, but that will not last, and we surely know that he can still shout out his ugly conversations, but look who is still working for the people and doing a great job, the man of good character, President Barack Obama.

OOOH, Lunar, you may giving them far to much credit. Those you mentioned are carrying the torch. That torch was LIT by Richard Nixon and his hateful, divisive “Southern Strategy.” And let’s not forget Ronnie Raygun, Reagan and his “trickle down economics.” Add DIck “warmonger” Cheney to the mix (considering that he ran the country for GW…) and you’ve hit the trifecta!!

Add Koch brother’s money and mix it all up? You get a bizillion dollar debt, dead soldiers, rabid-ass, treasonous crazies in the House of Representatives and folks who are quite proud of their backward, racist, sexist, box-of-rocks stupidness. They are hateful, mean, evil, and spiteful.

And yet. WE WILL PREVAIL. As a country, we have been thru more than this.

“Nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.”
— Barack Obama

Use the hashtag #WHChat on Twitter to ask administration officials your questions on President Obama’s speech and the ongoing deficit debate. White House staff will respond to your questions in real-time via Twitter during Office Hours. Here’s the schedule so far, follow @WhiteHouse for the latest updates and more chances to engage:

Friday, July 29

10:00 a.m. EDT: Office Hours with Jason Furman, Principal Deputy Director of the National Economic Council
4:00 p.m. EDT: Office Hours with Brian Deese, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council
Please note that we will do our best to stick to this Office Hours schedule, but time

Oh, Lisa, we need to get ready for our date with LOD. I have our reservations set at 5:00 sharp.Now he better not show up acting foolish, or this girl will be very upset. So I need to go and get pretty. Already there, but a girl has to do what she has to do to keep the brainy ones. See back here.

What a man in My Jay Carney, I was so destructed by his cuteness I didn’t hear some of the stuff he was saying. He knew exactly where Lawrence was going in his questioning, then he would smile at me in advance and tell me, me4obama I got this, Lawrence is trying to trick me but am holding steady.

I saw that Me4obama. My son had great upbrining as a child in our home. Great and smart son. That is why he is in the position that he is in at the great WH of President Obama’s presidency. You have great taste in wonderful men, I must say.

That’s it, I just can’t watch Howard Fineman looking like a cheshire cat. I don’t want to know what HIS SOURCES are telling him. The man makes my skin crawl. And I have lost it for that weasel Sam Stein with his Huff & Puff roots. I will avert my eyes and hit the mute until it is safe to watch the next segment on The Last Word. I am so sorry I missed the adorable and brilliant Jay Carney. I will catch him during the rerun later tonight. That rascal sure is popular around these parts.

1Tim 2:1…………Heavenly Father, I give thanks for our government.
1 Tim 2:2………..I pray for all men and women having authority over us in any way.
Prov. 1:23……….Pour out Your Spirit upon them and make Your Word known to them.
Ps 25:21………..Cause them to be men and women of integrity, obedient concerning us,
1 Tim 2:2………..that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty.
Prov. 2:10……….Let wisdom enter their hearts, and let knowledge be pleasant to them.
Prov. 2:11……….Let discretion preserve them and understanding keep them,
Prov. 2:12……….to deliver them from the way of evil and from evil men.
Psalm 1:1……….Make their hearts and ears attentive to godly counsel,
2Chr 20:32………doing what is right in your sight.
Prov. 2:21……….Let the upright dwell in our government.
Heb 12:27……….Cause there to be a shaking in all areas.
Prov. 2:21……….Let those complete and blameless before You stay.
Prov. 2:22……….and cut off the wicked. Let the unfaithful be rooted out.
1Cor 4:5…………Bring to light what is hidden in darkness,
1Cor 4:5…………and expose the secret aims of the hearts.
Rev 2:5………….Let this nation remember from where they have fallen,
Rev 2:5………….repenting, and returning to doing their first works,
1Chr 22:19……..setting their hearts and their souls to seek the Lord,
2Chr 7:14……….humbling themselves, praying, and turning from their wicked ways.
2Chr 7:14……….Then hear them, O Lord, and forgive their sins and heal our land.
Acts 26:18……..Open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light.
Heb 3:13………..Soften the hearts that are hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Ps 107:20……….Deliver them from their destructions.
2Pet 3:9…………Father, You have been longsuffering toward us,
2Pet 3:9…………not willing that any should perish,
2Pet 3:9…………but that all should come to repentance.
Isa 49:22………..Raise up a standard in this nation.
Zech 10:1……….Cause the rains of Your Spirit to flood this land
Hab 3:2………….and revive Your work in the midst of us.
Isa 59:16………..Raise up intercessors for this nation
2Cor 10:4……….to pull down strongholds over this land.
Isa 40:5…………And let the glory of the Lord be revealed!
Amen

Thank you dun. Prayers are so important in these times especially. We have so many people who will be hurt very badly in this situation all over the globe. In our meditations, quiet moments, and prayers, hopefully that good energy will bring a little more hope and peace in this storm. I have faith and believe in favor of granting wisdom to our President and his team.

Fineman has been singing that false tune for a longest while. It’s pathologically compulsive with him at this point. Notice, he almost NEVER mentions the Democrats in congress – his whole angle is a personal set of attacks on the President. His aim is to portray the President as a weak inept negotiator.

hahahahahhahhahahahhahahahahahahahhahahha!!!!!😆 you are hilarious, EDP!!! You’re right. But with what Ms. Huff N Puff pays him, I doubt he could afford a better rug!!!
ps- I ALWAYS got in trouble in school. Sometimes I’m amazed at how far I’ve come😉

LOL. Thanks for the chuckle. You really do remind me of a friend I had who used to have me in stitches all the time. Actually I’ve had a couple of friends like you. Love, love, love a good laugh. With that I’m off to bed, and let us all keep PBO in our prayers. Also, he will be on Rev Al’s radio program tomorrow, if it wasn’t already mentioned. Nite😀

Speaking of Trump he is threatening to run again. This time as an Independent. I think the Miss Universe tv show is coming up. I hope that is the reason and not that he really will run. Could you see his family as the First Family?

He really is annoying. He and his evil spawn Sam Stein. Yap, yap, yap, yap, yap that’s all they know how to do. Every question, even if it doesn’t pertain to PBO, they always find a way to drag him into their slimy “analysis.” They’re just empty barrels.

He’s clearly threatened by OBama – he can no longer hide it (although I saw signs of it very early on in 2009). Now he doesn’t even fake with a little bit of “analysis” anymore, he goes straight for the anti-Obama put-downs and insults.

I knew he was going to go there, that’s why I could not watch. No matter what happens, in the end it must have been because of something PBO did. Maybe Howard should read Joe Kleins article. He might learn something about who is responsible for this mess.

Hannity is a evil man. Lying on the President. That is what a hater and liar will do to your values. McCain is awful and still hateful that he could not win over President Obama. He should be shameful.

Bwhahahahahahahahahahaha, HZ, am having a good time with My Jay Carney at my date, he brought me some Presidential M&Ms and roses from the white house rose garden. He keeps telling me am the only one on his mind right now. No debt ceiling talk.

Okay, Me4obama. Mother’s son , but I would have liked it if he had not taken the M&Ms from the candy drawer. Maybe he could have called the florist to get you his own roses. Mommy has to give him a call about his manners.

This is why I never trusted John McCain when he seemed like was calling out teabaggers on the senate floor. I just knew that if you got him in front of a Fox News camera or on the radio with Limbaugh he would cave like a soggy diaper. He is so full of doublespeak. In 2008 he was the “maverick straight-talker who put country first” yet he picked the disease that is Sarah Palin and allowed her to infect the citizens of this country. I will never forget what havoc he wrecked on this country in 2008 and as far as I’m concerned, no matter what he says he is a shyster and a scumbag.

It might be as simple as a contractual obligation for certain pundits to appear on a certain amount of shows for a certain amount of hours in a year? Otherwise, it’s just that they are just making sure that they’re fulfilling their contractual obligation to their corporate interests. After all, NBC is owned by Comcast (where the top-tiered execs are repub fundraisers).

So now it seems Boehner couldn’t get the votes with his arm twisting so he’s going to add a Balanced Budget Amendment in order to win teabagger votes – basically he knows this bill is going nowhere but doesn’t want to suffer his bill going down so he’ll give into the baggers to get the bill passed.

I’m at the point where if it’s going to get killed by the Senate, and this new delay will eat up another day – that maybe enough Dems should vote for it to pass it. Of course then Boehner/Cantor would call it a bi-partisan bill. Maybe if Pelosi, Hoyer and leadership voted for it – because they could get on television and explain why the did it.

No no and hell no! they should never vote for Boehner’s bill and they especially should NEVER vote for ANY bill that contains a BBA. Are you freaking kidding me? Have you seen what’s in the BBA and what it entails? I don’t care if we’re tired of this farce, we should NEVER EVER encourage democrats to not only commit political suicide but then join hands and vote for a bill that spells destruction to our economy. They should instead save their votes for the Reid bill and rally as much republicans as they can to vote for the Reid bill.

I’m sorry Str but I don’t freaking care. Yes I know the clock is ticking but to encourage dems or dems hold outs to vote for a BBA is akin to encouraging them to vote for Cut, Cap and Balance or Ryan’s Kill Medicare Plan. A BBA is basically a constitutional amendment not of the smart kind but of the extremely FOOLISH kind. With a BBA in place we would NEVER be able to accomplish anything. If a natural disaster occurred on any other thing of such magnitude the government wouldn’t be able to release sorely needed funds without a 2/3rds majority vote in both houses. With the nonsense teabagger caucus we’re stuck with, do you see a consenus coming together over anything productive? If worse comes to worse we get a clean debt ceiling bill just like what PBO wanted in the first place.

That’s not what I’m saying here. From what I understand there is no BBA in the current offering that is short votes. Boehner is now going to add in a BBA in order to get the holdout GOP votes. But to do so it will delay the vote another day (at least).

If 2-3 Dems voted for the current bill – the one without any BBA – Boehner wouldn’t have to add a BBA in to get the tabagger holdout votes.

I think you’re missing the point Str. No dems should vote for the BBA amendment ot Boehner’s plan or Boehner’s plan itself because Boehner is in a desperate spot and is tossing in teabagger nonsense to the final bill and he should rot in his political demise. Also how will Dems in 2012 use this whole farce as a campaign issue to win seats like they used the Ryan Kill Medicare bill to win NY-23 if they vote for such nonsense. It’s hypocritical and once again it is POLITICAL SUICIDE. Besides the bill is DOA in the senate so why should they hand Boehner even a smidgen of “bi-partisan” victory?

If, by chance, Boner’s bill makes it out of the House — it will be such a disaster that no Democrat’s name should be attached to it. He’s throwing all kinds of TeaParty madness into it now in order to get it to pass. Step back and think of that — he’s somewhere on Capitol Hill right now just shoving all kinds of slashes and cuts and craziness into this bill so the lunatics will vote Yes.

All for a bill that will NOT become law.

Democrats will be able to run against these same House members and beat them over the head with this abominable vote the same way Democrats ran — and won — against Paul Ryan’s (failed) budget.

To vote yes on this catastrophe would be a sure way for Democrats to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Manchin says he will not vote for the Reid bill. That means it could lose only one more (two if they want to bring Biden in to break the tie). Sanders is surely out as well. Meaning Dems need every other Dem Senator to vote for the Reid bill. How sure are we that Sherrod Brown would vote for it? Nelson? Webb?

Isn’t this what he has done for the past month? I think he should stay out of it, let congress burn in hell until Monday, and then Monday night address the nation and invoke the 14th amendment. Be the savior of the country few minutes before default.

Okay I know this is going to sound strange but I blame……drum roll please…..The Democrats! for this giant mess and for the situation they have put the country and PBO in.

rant/

I remember toward the end of 2009 when PBO came out in a presser and said now is the time to raise the taxes back to the previous rate on millionaires and billionaires and pass a budget. He saw the writing on the wall back then. I remember being incredulous that the Dem majority didn’t take it up because they were afraid of loosing votes. I thought at the time as I do now, they are all just career pols whose main focus is keeping their seats, not doing what’s right. How could they miss this opportunity?

PBO got a lot of push back from lots of Dems on the TeeVee machines at the time. I remember thinking that the Dems are always too afraid to act. So if you’re wondering why they are working so hard and all are on message? I’m sure PBO must have given them a nice little ‘I told you so’. that they are now having to deal with this mess.

PBO practically pleaded with them to do it. It could have been a done deal and the spring and summer of 2011 could have had the budget and debt ceiling off the table, meaning we could have been a lot further along in getting out of the ditch. So while I appreciate all the work they are doing, I think they are all a bunch of foolish WATB just like the teajadists they so disdain.

If they would’ve acted when the time was ripe we wouldn’t be here now. I know ‘water under the bridge’ but I just had to say it. So if I hear 1 dem say PBO isn’t leading on this, they will get a long hand written letter from me that they may not want to read.

The worst part of this is watching all the grief that PBO has had to endure as a result of their cowardice, when he’s got a zillion other things to do.

Exactly, just like he pleaded with all of us to not let the rethugs have the keys to the car. But no, too many were disinterested, and frankly a lot of folk just don’t understand the nature of congressional legislating, thus the importance of mid-term elections. I truly hope those very same people are getting the civics lesson of a lifetime.

Democrats were never in the position to vote for the increase of the debt ceiling last year. That is still the core of this issue. This vote is to make good on debts that occurred under the previous administration. This is now 2011 – Republicans were elected and they are the majority in the House. Republicans are responsible for this situation. So let’s not adopt the meme that somehow not raising the debt ceiling is somehow the Democrats fault.

These folks are grown men and women who were elected by regular citizens to do a job that would be in the best interest of this country. Republicans put the country in this mess by refusing to get serious about balancing a budget much less doing something as simple as passing the responsible vote to raise the debt ceiling as was done many times in the past. Now I agree with you that PO advised that Congress roll back the Bush tax cuts and some Democrats didn’t want to do that. That is exactly right but LunarSea, that will automatically happen on it’s own anyway as the President has said, he refuses to extend them. He will do nothing and the tax cuts will expire.

At this point, the most value added thing we could do is to ensure a Democratic win across the spectrum come 2012. If we can help to vote these lunatics out of office and make sure we have responsible representatives in Washington, I am confident that we will see a more responsible effort to address the long term budget issues around 2013.

I have stopped watching Sanders at all. He has been a big disappointment in the way he has been bashing PBO lately. He says the same stuff over and over and over and over. I know he means well ,but he need to leave PBO out of this. PBO works from a realistic point of view. Bernie works from what should be in an ideal world.

Puke Russert supposedly tweeted that the list of no votes was growing rather than shrinking. Also there is something about Pell Grants that baggers found in the Boehner bill that they didn’t like either – which might explain the growing number of no votes.

“Today in the Senate, I met with Senators Jon Kyl and Mark Kirk. The meeting is very useful because it shows that the alternative to Barack Obama is a collapse of all the programs of cooperation with Russia,” he said. “Today, I had the impression that I was transported in a time machine back several decades, and in front of me sat two monsters of the Cold War, who looked at me not through pupils, but targeting sights.”

Boner’s name will live in infamy as synonymous with political ineptitude. He’s not cut out for work of any type, especially not the high-stakes work of governing.

What did he say the other night? “I never thought I would be going mano a mano with the President of the United States.” HA! This idiot probably thought he wouldn’t have to do any type of work after November 2010. Get up off your drunken ass, Rusty — it doesn’t get better!

And think about it: NONE OF THIS HAD TO HAPPEN! There was absolutely no reason — and no prior history — for there to be ANY strings attached to the debt ceiling vote. The teapublicans decided to hold the vote hostage to their own idiotic ideology. This could have been squared away months ago but now they’ve exposed their asses for the whole country and whole world to see.

After two years of unprecedented accomplishments, the voters decided that the President Obama and the Democrats just weren’t turning around the economy fast enough so they decided DIVIDED GOVERNMENT WAS THE WAY TO GO. And here we are in the middle of that decision on the brink of an economic disaster.

The Republican Party doesn’t know how to govern. President Obama knows how to govern and that’s one of the reasons why they hate him so much. By being good at governing, he is making government look good. They can’t have that.

As Lawrence O’Donnell said, these freshman GOP Tea Party members don’t understand what it means to govern. In fact, they seem to have a very twisted understanding of exactly how a democracy is supposed to work. I question their understanding of the oath they took to uphold the constitution. The very fact that they need to surrender their judgment with various ideological pledges means they are not fit for office. They can’t think for themselves, they are sheep.

I can’t imagine how the historians are going to write about this episode. The Republican Party Manufactured, Self Inflicted, Totally Unnecessary Debt Ceiling Crisis. No one could have imaged the GOP dysfunction coming to this.

Race makes it more intense but it happens to every President. Ike was middle of the road Republican and the right wing hated his guts. They called the guy who was a popular 5 star general and allied commander a commie dupe. As this President has said it all comes with the job.

Grrrrr WTFFFFF!!!!!!!!!! This is no example of compromise……tax increases for the rich is needed!! You cannot cut social securities ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The thing that really scaring me the most is Americans in 2012 forgeting this situation Boehner and his party is putting the nation and the world under!! This Boehner plan is not good for the economy and the people!!!

P, breathe, just breathe. Even if they wrangle the votes to get it to pass in the US House of Representative, there is no way in hell it would pass the US Senate. It’s been a total waste of time. Political theater at its worst.

Wouldn’t you guys say this is a waste of time? The plan is not going to pass Senate so why are they wasting precious time???? The evil that must be in Boner’s heart is unbelievable….it’s just sad to know such an individual holds such a high office….RACISM to the max! Can’t believe they want an entire nation of blacks, browns and WHITES to fail because they detest a BLACK MAN being President….really really funny to me😆. Only God knows his wrath for these sick people….in the end his people will never suffer!!

So true. This is when we have to hold on to our faith. In God We Trust is what this nation was founded upon and that hasn’t changed. He knows what is going on and He will take care of it. I have my moments too, but my faith kicks in and it brings me through. I know you have had those experiences in your life. President Obama will be okay and serve another four years. He’s smart, strong and has a wonderful family and he has all of us. It’s going to be okay.

Thank you Doris. Faith is the solid rock. We will prevail, and the President knows that also. That I truly believe. He will be fine and thus we the people will be fine over this evil and selfish foolish people. Faith will withstand a whole lot of mess. Doris, you always bring us back to the sanity that is the goodness in us as a family. We respect all and lean on the goodness in the hearts of our ToD Family. We will be fine. We have a fine man in the WH., and a very smart one at that.

You notice how the GOP are all on message saying where is the President’s plan? He doesn’t have one. They act as if it is irresponsible that he has not given them a plan when the executive branch of government signs or vetoes the bills introduced and passed in the House then passed the Senate. Congress writes the bills and legislation, not the executive. Guess we need to educate the public on that too. I wish the commentators would stop that talking point so it doesn’t take hold.

And you notice that the MSM isn’t calling them on it? Reminiscent of a brief step-to I had with someone on the orange. He was talking about intellectual honesty and a bill/budget that the President would have with cuts. Basic civics class as well as some Latin! Legislation and legislators have the same root, don’t they?

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

This is how I learned it. I think this one and the “I’m just a bill” sparked my interest in politics. I met some kids working in a Chick-fil-A near me that didn’t even understand the 3 sections of government. What the hell are we teaching our children in school???

I AGREE!!!! The sight of ONE BLACK man surrounded by HUNDREDS of WHITE men and women is eating them alive!! Hate…hate and more hate in these people that they are becoming wicked to their own! Thank God PBO has a strong woman who loves him unconditionally and is supporting him 100%…he takes each blow with a smile.

I’m sure there will be several movies about him – after he leaves the Presidency. The OBL hunt raid by itself is a 2-3-hr movie. The campaign and historic win is another movie. The first 4 years is a third movie…Broadway might want to cash in as well. Then numerous documentaries, and books…

This song/video tells the truth. He inherited this catastrophic mess and gets NO help from the right and a lot on the left practically yell that he’s a Democrat in Name Only (DINO) and is a republican. It’s disgusting and frustrating. But thanks for this video Lisa. It shows the issue for exactly what it is.

Goodnight TOD Family and Chips. I hope we were good today. I want to also apologize to Desertflower. My choice of word phrasing in my questions was incorrect. How was trying to find out what channel you were watching. Please forgive me. I already know that you love me, but when I saw the answer, I smiled with joy because of how you so beautifully answered me. But I could not leave tonight without saying the above. I am going to get quiet with my candles for our President, FLOTUS, Timmy, Joe, David P. Valarie, Jay, Daley, and his entire team and pray, and medidate on good thoughts as I read my new copy of ‘The Other Barack’ that just came out. Sally H. Jacobs, author. Just started, so can’t say much, but it seem to have been well researched based on some things that I know. Goodnight all, and let us keep our family covered with our kind words, our loving thoughts, and beautiful actions on this blessed site that Chipsticks works so hard on each day. Thank you Chips.

Goodness sakes! You have absolutely nothing to apologize for at all! Not to worry about the question, I just wanted you to have a smile on your face:) That is all….you are a dear. Please don’t worry. I stepped away from the news, away from the computer and went to watch my son play lacrosse tonight. He was on fire! Fabulous game if I say so myself! Anyway, I feel much better now…tomorrow is another day. See you tomorrow, HZ….sleep tight.

Dear Lord,I ask that put love where there is hatred
To put hope and faith where there is doubt
To put joy where there is discord
I ask that you guide and protect our President and his family today and always

So the deadbeat Dad, Rep. Joe Walsh the Tea Party racists said he doesn’t owe his ex-wife anything. It’s all political. So who do you think the racists fool will blame? Probably the President. That’s how crazy he is.

LOD on Rachel’s show last night with Melissa Harris-Perry said something simple, true and terrifying: He said that Boehner had never in his life tried to get a Democratic vote.

Think about that. A now-Speaker of the House who has no concept that you’re SUPPOSED to work to get both together. You’re supposed to get votes from both sides of the chamber. Boehner doesn’t know that. It’s unthinkable to him to do that.

The grand bargain was never gonna happen. Boehner, currying favor from the crazies was NEVER going to get that bill through his House and would have been unwilling or psychologically unable to get Democrats on board.

I don’t know what’s going to happen. This is as uncharted political territory as we’ve ever seen. I don’t want to sound PL and that’s not at all where I’m coming from — but we should not leave debt reduction to this Congress. We should not be making decisions that will affect millions of Americans from poor children to children going to college, to the future of Social Security and Medicare, to science investment, infrastructure building — this should not be left in their hands and their frighteningly hateful minds and their stupidity. Not now. I’m going to say something I’ve never said: the President is wrong to negotiate such vitally important issues with this Congress. There is nothing we can give them but complete capitulation. We have to put a stop to this circus.

The country is so bruised and bloodied from this — Democrats will NOT revisit decisions made now in the next Congress if we are fortunate enough to get the House back. We ‘look forward’ and seldom go back.

I hope Harry Reid comes out with a clean bill today. It’s time for the Senate and the President to dare the Republicans instead of it often being the other way around. We have a majority in the Senate and a Democrat in the White House. The House is more than dysfunctional — it’s dangerous.

republican frame is “here’s our bill. If you don’t take it it’s your fault if we default.” We have to do the same. And not the Reid plan with cuts and no revenue and no time to debate, go through committee, take the time to seriously consider the effect of massive changes to the budget with these Republicans at this time in history holding a gun to our heads. I don’t think that what serious people do. Dare THEM to let the country default. Nancy Pelosi will be able to say, “I have 193 Democratic votes for a clean bill. Speaker, I dare you to pass this bill.”

Wow. Imagine that. How does one get to be Speaker of the House and not even know how to reach across the isle. He should have been taking notes from Nancy Pelosi those last two years, instead of “mocking” here. This Time magazine calls him weak.

BOEHNER IS NO NANCY PELOSI

********************
…..That trend peaked with Nancy Pelosi, who was one of the most powerful Speakers in a generation. Members could hardly hold a press conference without her blessing, let alone win plum committee assignments or pass legislation. Boehner often mocked Pelosi for not allowing amendments, and for her use of frivolous post office naming votes to lure members to the floor where she could whip them. (See “Does the Debt Ceiling Make Deficits Worse?”)

Though heavy handed, Pelosi’s tactics worked. She pushed through health care reform in the House after Reid lost his 60-vote super majority in the Senate. More than a few reporters who covered health care remarked how similar Thursday night’s drama was to the final health care reform vote, albeit with vastly different outcomes. Both votes could have cost the Speakers their jobs; in Pelosi’s case, for overreach, and in Boehner’s, for failing to grasp far enough. During the final push on Boehner’s debt bill this week, the Speaker did finally crack the whip, telling his conference on Wednesday to “Get your ass in line.” But it was too little too late. Boehner’s “leadership is clearly at stake,” Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican and the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, said on Thursday night.

**************
Boehner rode into power on the backs of his paper tiger. Last night, it had him for dinner with some hot sauce to boot.

You raise some very good points and I totally hear your frustration about how dangerous this situation is. But I think we need to keep in mind the fact that this process has unequivocally exposed the ineptness and rabid delusionality of a core segment of the Republican congress – the Tea Party. With the MSM (and PL) covering for and promoting these KKK reincarnates over last two years – very few, especially the low information voters who are not particularly tuned in to politics, would have understood how dangerous these people are. Had the president simply took some action, he would be blamed all around and that would have set the stage for the Republicans to successfully campaign for the 2012 presidency. Then, we would be in for a shit storm, if you think things are bad now. The President HAD to expose them and effectively remove their last trump card and talking point – that they are serious about deficits and he isn’t.

The president had to make them share the pain of their own obstructionism and rigid ideological positions, and turn the tables back on them. So far, the Republicans have not paid a price for their bad behavior – in fact they were rewarded for it in 2010, thanks to the complicit media (including the PL fauxgressive movement). This time, the President was able to bypass the dishonest media and render the PL irrelevant during this entire process. Furthermore, despite his supposedly “slipping poll numbers” (which we would expect some), he’s still head and shoulders above the entire congress, AND the GOP candidates for 2012.

I think the President did this not just to punish the Republicans, but also to teach the American people, Wall Street, Corporations, as well as the the GOP-enabling complicit media that when they encourage and reward Republicans’ outrageous behavior thinking that it will only hurt Barack Obama, they are thoroughly and dangerously mistaken. I believe this is a valuable lesson that many voters will take with them going into the 2012 elections. The reason that the GOP presidential candidates so far have not been very vocal on this issue, is that they are afraid to attach themselves to it, knowing fully well this toxicity might seal their fate for 2012.

I agree with every word, hopefruit. Additionally, the horrors that the teapublican governors elected in 2010 have created in the states will not be soon forgotten. From state legislature to governors houses to the House and the Senate — the TeaOPee has proven it doesn’t know how to govern and that it hates our form of democracy.

That made me insane last month with the jobs numbers — even though the numbers showed job growth in the private sector it was Republican layoffs that brought the numbers down and it barely got reported. No — it was all Obama’s fault that Republican governors imploding their governments. Un-freakin-believable.

You’re absolutely right. Republicans have been exposed, through the deft efforts of our President. This will probably be the most important thing – showing how seriously dangerous they are. I have absolutely NO PROBLEM with the what Obama has done or how he has done it. Absolutely none. It’s been brilliant, bold (although the PL can’t see that). Had he just called them a**holes from the beginning, it just would have turned into a silly food fight. We never would have backed Republicans into the corner they are in now.

Yesterday changed how we move forward, I think. I saw it on LOD’s face — that Republicans truly are what they seem. Boehner never took control of his freshman, kowtowed to them from the beginning instead of schooling them about how governing works. We put monsters in the House and Boehner fed them red meat.

They will not compromise. There is nothing upon which they will compromise. I say again, Obama’s efforts up to last night were exactly the right thing to do, the adult thing to do, the leadership thing to do. And it was smart politically. Brilliant.

They had a Boehner front loaded cuts-only to the programs that people need, and it wasn’t good enough for them AND we were supposed to do this again in 5 months. This is more than obstruction. This is insane.

That brings us to this morning. I thought long and hard about this all night. To make decisions about the health of the safety net and programs that are vital to Americans — there is no good faith on which to negotiate with these people. The cuts are going to chill the economy anyway — how many federal workers are going to swell the unemployment rolls with nothing to balance it? I just think we need to adapt to some sobering truths on the ground. A clean bill. Harry Reid can pass it. If Republicans obstruct it, well it might be the first time some poor Social Security recipient in Kentucky comes to understand what Republicans are doing — using their minority to stop your social security check.

yeah, yeah, the PL will whine, “I told you so” but their path wouldn’t have changed a God damned thing. This President tried to govern but he has to have responsible partners. I believe that Geithner through his contacts is completely convinced that our debt problem is going to lead us to a downgrade anyway and that is why Obama was so deadly serious about a bargain. But how do we proceed? Are we going to get tax increases from a band of loons who couldn’t accept an all-cuts deal and a way to embarrass Obama at Christmas time? That wasn’t good enough for them — how the hell are we going to get anything that’s fair or even effective?

The economy is going to suffer if we give them their way. Desperately suffer. We take what the country has now learned about teapublicans, hammer it home every day for the next 15 months and get us some sanity back in the house before making serious changes to how our government spends money and takes care of its citizens.

I think the only thing that can change this trajectory is Boehner — if he had a Hallelujah moment and decided to govern, knowing it would cost him his speakership but would probably make him a hero in the long run. Is that going to happen?

When Obama spoke to the nation and Boehner followed most pundits agreed that he was talking to his base while Obama was talking to the nation. I don’t think Boehner understands that the rest of the country may think differently than he does. The only reason he wanted a deal to avoid default is because his corporate masters don’t want a default — not because he understood or cared about the consequences. He said so yesterday in no uncertain terms — he’s going to do what he wants and the default is not his problem.

Before he became speaker I had heard that he was the laziest, dumbest man in Congress. Okay, that was before the freshmen were sworn in.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama is deeply involved in trying to win a debt deal and his White House was working flat out, aides said, pushing back against any impression Congress had sidelined the administration.
“He’s getting absolutely no sleep. He’s working tirelessly, meeting with his economic team, doing a lot of outreach, exploring all kinds of possibilities for compromise,” top Obama aide Valerie Jarrett told Reuters Insider.
White House officials have blanketed U.S. cable television in the last few days to get their message over that Republicans were harming the U.S. economy by refusing to compromise over measures to cut the deficit and lift the borrowing ceiling.
Lawmakers must lift the country’s $14.3 trillion borrowing ceiling by an August 2 deadline to act or risk a devastating default and downgrade of its vital AAA credit rating.
Obama Chief of Staff Bill Daley, key adviser David Plouffe and Jarrett herself have been almost constantly on air, while also reaching beyond the Beltway to regional press and radio.
“I don’t know how you can get more actively involved,” Daley told CNN when charged that the White House has been relegated to the sidelines in the deficit debate by Congress. “I’m in constant conversations, as are many of our staff, with people on the Hill,” he said.
Vice President Joe Biden, who led bipartisan negotiations to explore a deal, has been a key conduit to Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, with whom he has a rapport.
White House budget chief Jack Lew and top Obama economic aide Gene Sperling have also reinforced Obama in reaching out to Congress. Daley and Jarrett, both with business backgrounds, have been the president’s top emissaries to the business community, where concerns over the debt ceiling have grown.
“Today they are very nervous. My phone was ringing off the hook all day long,” said Jarrett, who said she canceled several meetings just to be able to field incoming calls.
Several press conferences and a prime-time televised address to the nation by the president from the stately East Room, plus a background briefing by senior Obama aides that went late into Friday night, have added to the controlled frenzy at the White House.
This has translated into even longer days than normal at the White House, which already begin in the early hours of every morning as senior staff prepared for their daily 7:30 a.m. meeting in the office of the chief of staff.

The president is damned if he is and damned if he is not. They whined about him letting Joe Biden meet with congress. Of course we know he was just as involved in the back. When he comes front and center, they whine about him being overexposed and jawboning folks.

This is getting so tired. This is the same complaint they had about the health care debate. Congress in fact is supposed to pass laws and the president sign off on it. Why can’t they do their job. John Boehner needs to do his job. He is Speaker of the House.

But folks, be assured that the president has gotten the message out that he wants out there. When he summoned us to call our representatives this week, we — millions of Americans did so. That is no small feat.

Last night on our nightly local news, the polling question for one of the channels had to do with oil subsidies for the big companies. Sure enough people were in favor of eliminating tax breaks for them. People are beginning to listen.

A few minutes ago, I was talking to a friend in Washington, D.C., she was worried about her 401k and complained that Congress is playing with people finances.

President Obama works harder than even those in the so-called media. This man has been working non-stop. If it was anybody else, they would be suggesting a bust on Mount Rushmore now. But many of us know what is at work here, even if the media pretends not to know or prefers to sweep it under the rug.

That made me crazy yesterday: “Where’s the President?” I heard from allegedly progressive pundits. Good God — if he’s out there he’s hogging the mic, if he’s not he’s AWOL. I have never seen so many upper level spokespeople from the administration as I’ve seen this week.

“So he [Obama] is losing a battle in which he had superior forces—the presidency, the U.S. senate. In the process he revealed that his foes have given him too much mystique. He is not a devil, an alien, a socialist. He is a loser. And this is America, where nobody loves a loser.”

The likes of Peggy Noonan want so badly to call President the “N” word so badly, they can taste it. But that would mean losing her little spot on TV, so she goes nasty enough where she can get away with it.

They are angered by the fact that they can’t beat this man, no matter how hard they try. She would have been elevating Boehner to upperclass statesman this morning had he managed to drag his vote through. She is angered, in the same way Mark Halperin was angered that day after the president took the Republicans to the woodshed.

They don’t know how to criticize him without going below the belt, There is something about President Obama that drags the crazy out of these people.

If you are on twitter, please tweet her. I have searched high and low for her e-mail address I can’t find it. I went looking at other stories to see if she had any contact information, I can’t find any.

Noonan is enraged and the only way she knows how is to try to tear PBO down. This is their M.O. They either pass the blame or they resort to name calling. She needs to be called out.

Africa you better believe Noonan wants and she and the others will get so worked up one of these days they WILL call him that.Be ready for that as my family;friends and I have been dreading that day coming since he announced his candidacy.
It is important that WE remain cool;calm and collected and let the so-called “liberal” media tear each other up over this.

Noonan and Pat Buchanan need to go somewhere and retire while they can, with the oz of dignity they have left. MSNBC got rid of Halpern for calling PBO the D word but they keep these old nasty relics around to continue to spew deep rooted hatred for this smart president. I detest both of them.

WHAT. THE. FUCK????!!!!!! is this fucking bitch for real? Why doesn’t she look inside her own party for a loser? the meme is that it’s Bonehead. I guess it would be too much to ask for truth in journalism. Peggy Noonan is a fucking liar and a twit whose best years were served drinking and carrying Reagan’s water and staring at his ass. That bitch needs to STFU and get her mangey ass gone.😡 Bitch.

For some reason, I’ve been in the ‘wayback machine’ lately. This one is way, way, WAY back…written by Thomas Jefferson in 1816 and engraved on the walls of the Jefferson Memorial. I found it amid the sarcasm at Wonkette.

I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.

“Whether the GOP wants to admit it or not, the economy is advancing exactly as they want it to. The private sector is being left to its own devices; the public sector is shedding jobs quickly and scrapping investments; and the only permitted topic of conversation is about
debt-reduction.

This is the script the GOP wrote. When it’s followed to the letter, Republican complaints are absurd.

It doesn’t have to be this way. We can boost public investments. The Federal Reserve can stop worrying about inflation that doesn’t exist. We can stop pretending spending cuts can create jobs.

We know what we should do. The country needs the wisdom and courage to do the right thing, but as of today, with the recovery faltering, the right thing isn’t even on the negotiating table.

What is on the table is a choice between default and competing plans to take massive amounts of capital out of the economy on purpose.”

Those facts only add to the justification for President Obama to invoke the 14th Amendment.

With no debt ceiling as a mechanism for hostage taking, the focus will be totally on jobs and the lack of any effort by the Republicans to create them. The President and Democratic members of the House and Senate can all rightly state that they were more than willing to take a balanced approach to deficit reduction and were thwarted by an highly dangerous attempt at brinksmanship – one left unchallenged by the President would have done decades of harm to America.

Instead, the President acted definitively to deny the hostage takers their goal by applying the Constitutional (legal) remedy of preventing a default on the Nation’s commitments – legislative commitments made both Republicans and Democrats over the past decades.

That is a conversation well worth having with the American 24h a day from now until Election Day 2012.

Heads up guys and Chipsticks in vacation land😉 : President Obama will be speaking at 10:20AM EDT/ 9:30AM CDT/ 7:30AM PDT in the Diplomatic Room on the debt ceiling. CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN ONE and even FOX NEWS will carry it live. You can also watch it live on http://www.cspan.com and http://www.whitehouse.gov/live

SAw it and heard him, once again…loud and clear! Now that I seen to be on a “first name basis” with the yahoos I have been calling this past week, it won’t be hard! Hell, yesterday I even pretended to be a Teabagger to get some no votes for the “Boner Bill” which is exactly what I called it!

It’s too bad the Teapugs only care about party. They think that if they keep the political nonsense up that they’ll be able to get away with blaming PBO, but most of the nation already sees through their BS!

Correction: It’s not “like they’ve taken over the psych ward” THEY HAVE TAKEN OVER THE PSYCH WARD!” Worse, they have NO IDEA what they’re talking about, they have NO idea that compromise is what they SHOULD be doing, nor to they care to do that, they START from a false premise, that raising the debt ceiling means the ability to SPEND MORE MONEY, and not PAY THE BILLS WE’VE ALREADY INCURRED! When you have no nothings, operating from a false premise, out to inflict massive damage to prove a point from a wrong standpoint, and one that this the TOTAL OPPOSITE of what we SHOULD be doing…this is where we end up! They are FUCKING NUTS! I can’t say that any nicer, I do apologize to anyone that is offended by language, but that the clean version.

I’m so angry at liberals and the left right now. Because of them being angered over right wing conservadems in the House, we have a House full of Teapugs holding the debt ceiling hostage.

I’m not a huge fan of the Democrats either, but they wouldn’t be holding the debt limit hostage if they still had the House. Unlike (Speaker) Bonehead, Speaker Pelosi would have gotten Democrats to fall in line and raise the debt ceiling. But because the fucking liberals didn’t get their radical candyland with ponies and rainbows, the Teapugs now hold the keys to the debt ceiling and we have to endure all of this drama. And they have the NERVE to continue to accuse PBO of caving/selling out/bending over to Teapugs etc etc etc. The liberal left needs a HUGE CAN OF STFU!!!! THEY DON’T KNOW SHIT!!!!

I agree with you nintendowii10. And I went to Ed Schultz website and I told him that very thing. I ask him was he satisfied. I said that if everyone had got out to vote in 2010, our country would not be held hostage right now by those crazy radical Tea Party

And to add onto my rant, why do the liberal left continue to act as if they OWN PBO and can dictate what he does? Most of them are saying he should do things that Bush did, things that they were vehemently against when Bush did them. In other words, they want Obama to act like a complete jerk, break the Constitution and be a “lefty Bush,” even though they keep saying that Obama is “worse than Bush” which makes no damned sense! PBO isn’t the liberal left’s slave and he doesn’t need to do a damned thing that they keep yelling at him to do… where were the liberal left under Clinton when he was negotiating the store and tinkering with Medicare and SS?

Preach it, brother! John Conyers can fuck off! Looks like he wants to be another Kucinich. And the PL can take a flying leap off a cliff following Jane Hamsher and Friends. Every time I read one of those ass-holes claiming “Just because the other party is worse does not mean I’m obligated to vote for Democrats,” I think “How do you like what you’ve sewn, douchebags?!”

I am calling Ben Chandler, Mitch McConnell, and Rand Paul today and giving all three an earful. Pass a clean debt ceiling bill and stop fucking with Americans’ lives!

Everyone, as we answer PBO’s call to contact our representatives, can we add what we call back home a “dash,” please?

After tweeting, facebooking or calling your Rep., can you do the same honors to Peggy Noonan, (with whatever contact information you have for her) please by tweeting, calling, facebooking or e-mailing her for calling our president a “loser.”

I’m not sure about that email address I gave. I am going to send a email to WSJ. But please someone keep searching till you fine some where we can contact this Noonan woman. Because my President is not a loser.